CN111885960A

CN111885960A - Universal interlaced scanning for ultrasound probes

Info

Publication number: CN111885960A
Application number: CN201980018637.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: J·H·崔; F·杨
Original assignee: Verathon Inc
Current assignee: Verathon Inc
Priority date: 2018-03-13
Filing date: 2019-02-27
Publication date: 2020-11-03
Anticipated expiration: 2039-02-27
Also published as: EP3764910A1; EP3764910B1; US20190282206A1; CN111885960B; JP7043622B2; CA3092799C; US11564656B2; KR20200130726A; EP3764910C0; WO2019177773A1; CA3092799A1; JP2021517036A; KR102493717B1

Abstract

A system comprising an ultrasound probe including an ultrasound transducer, a first motor configured to rotate the ultrasound transducer about a horizontal axis to scan a plane, and a second motor configured to rotate the ultrasound transducer about a vertical axis to move it to a different plane. The system further comprises a controller unit configured to: selecting a plurality of scan planes for interleaving to scan a volume of a region of interest within a patient using an ultrasound probe; selecting an interlace coefficient for interlace scanning; dividing the scan planes into scan plane groups based on the interlace coefficients; and performing interlaced scanning by controlling the first motor and the second motor, wherein the first motor moves in a first direction for at least some of the scanning planes and moves in a second direction for other scanning planes.

Description

Universal interlaced scanning for ultrasound probes

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This patent application claims priority to U.S. provisional application 62/642,193 entitled "GENERALIZED INTERLACEDSCANNING WITH AN ULTRASOND PROBE" filed on 3/13.2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Background information

An ultrasound probe may use a transducer, such as a piezoelectric transducer or a capacitive transducer, to generate an ultrasound signal that converts an electrical signal into ultrasonic energy and an ultrasound echo back into an electrical signal. Ultrasound probes are commonly used to identify a target organ or other structure within the body and/or to determine characteristics associated with the target organ/structure, such as the size of the organ/structure or the volume of fluid in the organ. In order for ultrasound to scan a target organ/structure correctly, the ultrasound probe may need to perform scans in multiple planes to generate a volumetric scan. Performing scanning in multiple planes may present various challenges.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary ultrasound system according to embodiments described herein;

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment of the ultrasound system of FIG. 1A, according to embodiments described herein;

fig. 2A is a diagram of a first exemplary ultrasound probe according to embodiments described herein;

fig. 2B is a diagram of a second exemplary ultrasound probe according to embodiments described herein;

fig. 2C is a diagram of a third exemplary ultrasound probe according to embodiments described herein;

fig. 2D is a diagram of a fourth exemplary ultrasound probe according to embodiments described herein;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of the controller unit of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating exemplary functional components of the system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a process of interlacing according to an embodiment described herein;

6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D are diagrams of exemplary scan order tables according to embodiments described herein;

7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D are diagrams of exemplary ultrasound transducer trajectories for a 12-plane based volumetric scan according to embodiments described herein;

8A, 8B, 8C, and 8D are diagrams of exemplary ultrasound transducer trajectories for 24-plane based volumetric scanning according to embodiments described herein;

fig. 9A and 9B are diagrams of exemplary ultrasound transducer trajectories based on a four-plane volumetric scan according to embodiments described herein;

10A and 10B are diagrams of exemplary ultrasound transducer trajectories based on two-plane volumetric scanning according to embodiments described herein;

FIG. 11 is a diagram of an exemplary ultrasound transducer trajectory for continuous biplane scanning according to embodiments described herein;

FIG. 12 is a graph showing the range of motion of the phi motor of an ultrasound probe according to embodiments described herein;

FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating motion trajectories and positions of a motor without overlap and with overlapped two-plane volume scanning according to embodiments described herein;

figure 13B is a diagram illustrating motion trajectories and positions of a motor without overlap and with overlapped 12-plane volume scans according to embodiments described herein;

FIGS. 14A and 14B are diagrams of exemplary scan order tables in which the theta motor is continuously moved, according to embodiments described herein; and

fig. 15A, 15B, and 15C are diagrams of exemplary ultrasound transducer trajectories based on a 12-plane volume scan with continuous motion of the theta motor, according to embodiments described herein.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements.

An ultrasound probe may be positioned on a patient's body to volumetrically scan (e.g., three-dimensional (3D) scan) a region of interest (e.g., a body organ, a joint, a blood vessel, and/or another region of the patient's body). The volume scan may include a set of ultrasound images captured in different planes intersecting the region of interest. For example, a volumetric scan may include planar ultrasound images taken at specific angular intervals in a circle around the center of the region of interest.

The ultrasound probe may include a single element ultrasound transducer. The ultrasound probe may include a first motor (referred to herein as a "phi" motor) configured to rotate about a horizontal plane to move the ultrasound transducer along a sector of a particular ultrasound imaging plane in order to scan that plane. The ultrasound probe may also include a second motor (referred to herein as a "theta" motor) configured to rotate about a vertical plane to move the ultrasound transducer to a different ultrasound imaging plane. Thus, a volume scan may be performed by moving the theta (θ) motor to a first plane, and moving the phi (φ) motor to sweep out a sector of the first plane, moving the theta motor to a second plane, and moving the phi motor to sweep out a sector of the second plane, moving the theta motor to a third plane, and so on, until all planes have been scanned to complete a volume scan.

Volume scanning may be implemented with theta homing. In theta homing, the theta motor returns to the initial theta motor position after the volume scan is completed to begin the next volume scan. Volume scanning may also be implemented with phi homing. In phi homing, the phi motor performs scanning in only one direction. Thus, in phi homing, the phi motor returns to the original position after scanning one plane, and the theta motor needs to wait for the phi motor to return before moving to the next plane. Theta homing and phi homing slow down the scan speed and reduce image quality. For example, theta homing may create a large delay between successive volume scans, while phi homing may increase the time required to perform each individual volume scan. In addition, such slower volume scan rates may produce significant motion blur and reduce image quality.

Embodiments described herein relate to generalized interlaced scanning with an ultrasound probe. Interlaced scanning may include interlaced theta motor motion and bi-directional phi motor motion. Interlaced scanning can be implemented without theta homing and phi homing and results in smooth continuous volume scanning without homing delay, increased volume scan rate, and reduced motion blur.

The interlacing may be defined by the number of scan planes. For example, the scan planes may be distributed around a circle and separated by an angle corresponding to 180 ° divided by the number of scan planes. The interlacing may also be defined by an interlacing coefficient k, and the scan planes may be divided into k groups. Interlacing may follow a set of rules. The rules may include: the phi motors change direction for each plane, the theta motors change direction for each set of planes, and the theta motors do not change direction within a set of planes. Further, since no theta homing is performed, a first volume scan may be performed with the theta motor starting from a particular plane, followed by a second volume scan with the theta motor starting from a different plane.

The ultrasound system may be configured to: selecting a number of scan planes for interleaving to scan a volume of a region of interest in a patient's body using an ultrasound transducer; selecting an interlace coefficient for interlace scanning; dividing the scan planes into scan plane groups based on the interlace coefficients; and performing interlaced scanning by controlling the phi motor to scan the planes and controlling the theta motor to move to a different plane, wherein the phi motor moves in a forward direction for at least some of the scan planes and in a rearward direction for some of the other scan planes. Further, the theta motor may be moved in a forward direction for at least some of the scan plane groups and in a backward direction for some other scan plane groups.

Further, dividing the scan planes into scan plane groups based on the interlace coefficients may include: sequentially numbering the scanning planes; dividing the scan planes into a number of groups of scan planes corresponding to the interlace coefficients; and sequentially assigning the numbered scan planes to the set of scan planes.

Further, performing the interlaced scanning may include: scanning a specific plane by moving the phi motor in a direction opposite to a moving direction of the phi motor when scanning a previous plane; the theta motor is moved to a next plane by moving the theta motor by a number of planes corresponding to the interlace coefficients, wherein the theta motor changes direction if the next plane is in a different set than the previously scanned plane.

In some embodiments, the ultrasound probe may include a one-dimensional (1D) straight or curved ultrasound transducer array and a theta motor, rather than a single ultrasound transducer with a theta motor and a phi motor. In such an embodiment, the phi motor scan plane may be moved instead by electronically controlling the 1D ultrasound transducer array scan plane. Thus, in such embodiments, performing interlaced scanning may include: controlling the 1D ultrasound transducer array to scan a plane; and controlling a motor configured to rotate the 1D ultrasound transducer array about a vertical axis to move to different planes, wherein the motor changes direction for each set of scan planes without changing direction within a set of scan planes. For example, the interlaced scanning may include: scanning a particular plane by electronically controlling the 1D transducer array; the theta motor is moved to a next plane by moving the theta motor by a number of planes corresponding to the interlace coefficients, wherein the theta motor changes direction if the next plane is in a different set than the previously scanned plane.

A particular embodiment may comprise an interlaced scan with two (groups of) scan planes and an interlace coefficient k set to 2. This embodiment may enable continuous biplane scanning.

Embodiments described herein also relate to overlapping the motion of the phi and theta motors. The arc of motion of the phi motor can include an acceleration region, a constant speed region, and a deceleration region. Ultrasound image data collection may be performed within a constant velocity region while the theta motor remains stationary. However, since no data collection is performed during acceleration or deceleration of the phi motor, moving the theta motor during acceleration or deceleration of the phi motor may increase the volumetric scan rate by reducing the delay due to acceleration/deceleration of the phi motor and/or movement of the theta motor. Thus, performing the interlaced scan may include: the theta motor is controlled to rotate while the phi motor is in an acceleration or deceleration region in a range of motion (motion range) of the phi motor. For example, the theta motor may move from a first plane to a second plane when the phi motor is in an acceleration or deceleration region of the range of motion.

Embodiments described herein also relate to continuous theta motor movement. The ultrasound probe may comprise wiring, for example, connected to the ultrasound transducer. The wiring may limit the range of motion of the theta motor. For example, the wiring may prevent the theta motor from continuously rotating in one direction, as such rotation may cause the wiring to wrap around the spindle that attaches the ultrasonic transducer to the base, or may cause the wiring to break. The ultrasonic probe may be configured to enable continuous movement of the theta motor. In some embodiments, conductive slip rings may be used in place of the wiring. In other embodiments, the wiring may be replaced with a wireless communication connection (e.g., a bluetooth connection, a bluetooth low energy connection, a Near Field Communication (NFC) connection, and/or another short-range wireless communication connection) with the ultrasound transducer. Thus, performing interlaced scanning may include controlling the theta motor to move in the same direction for all groups of scan planes.

Fig. 1A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary ultrasound system 100 according to embodiments described herein. As shown in fig. 1A, the ultrasound system 100 may include an ultrasound probe 110, a base unit 120, and a cable 130.

The ultrasound probe 110 may house one or more ultrasound transducers configured to generate ultrasound energy at a particular frequency and/or pulse repetition rate and receive reflected ultrasound energy (e.g., ultrasound echoes) and convert the reflected ultrasound energy into electrical signals. For example, in some embodiments, the ultrasound probe 110 may be configured to transmit ultrasound signals in a range extending from about two megahertz (MHz) to about 10 or more MHz (e.g., 18 MHz). In other embodiments, the ultrasound probe 110 may be configured to transmit ultrasound signals in different ranges. In addition, the ultrasound probe 110 may house one or more motors for controlling the movement of the ultrasound transducer.

The ultrasound probe 110 may include a handle 112, a trigger 114, and a dome 118 (also referred to as a "nose"). A user (e.g., a medical practitioner, etc.) may hold the ultrasound probe 110 by the handle 112 and depress the trigger 114 to activate one or more ultrasound transceivers and transducers located in the dome 118 to emit ultrasound signals toward an area of interest (e.g., a particular body organ, body joint, blood vessel, etc.) of the patient. For example, the probe 110 may be positioned on the pelvic region of the patient and over the bladder of the patient.

The handle 112 enables a user to move the probe 110 relative to a region of interest of a patient. When scanning a region of interest of a patient, activation of the trigger 114 initiates an ultrasound scan of a selected anatomical portion when the dome 118 is in contact with a surface portion of the patient's body. In some embodiments, the trigger 114 may include a toggle switch 116. The toggle switch 116 may be used to switch between different aiming planes during the aiming mode of the ultrasound system 100.

The dome 118 may enclose (surround) one or more ultrasound transducers and may be formed of a material that allows ultrasound energy to be properly focused and/or provides proper acoustic impedance matching to the anatomical portion when the ultrasound energy is projected into the anatomical portion. The dome 118 may also include transceiver circuitry including a transmitter and receiver for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals. The probe 110 may communicate with the base unit 120 via a wired connection, such as a cable 130. In other embodiments, the probe 110 may communicate with the base unit 120 via a wireless connection (e.g., bluetooth, WiFi, etc.).

The base unit 120 may house and include one or more processors or processing logic configured to process the reflected ultrasound energy received by the probe 110 to produce an image of the scanned anatomical region. In addition, the base unit 120 may include a display 122 to enable a user to view images from the ultrasound scan and/or to enable operative interaction with respect to the user during operation of the probe 110. For example, the display 122 may include an output display/screen, such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED) based display, a touch screen, and/or another type of display that provides text and/or image data to a user.

For example, the display 122 may provide instructions for positioning the probe 110 relative to a selected anatomical portion of a patient. Alternatively, the ultrasound probe 110 may include a small display (e.g., in the handle 112) that provides instructions for positioning the ultrasound probe 110. The display 122 may also display a two-dimensional or three-dimensional image of the selected anatomical region. In some implementations, the display 122 can include a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that allows a user to select various features associated with the ultrasound scan. For example, the display 122 may include selection items (e.g., buttons, pull-down menu items, check boxes, etc.) to select one or more parameters (e.g., number of planes and/or interlace coefficients) for performing interlaced volume scanning. In addition, the display 122 may include a selection item to select a particular type of ultrasound image to be obtained, for example, a B-mode ultrasound image, a probability mode (P-mode) ultrasound image, a doppler mode ultrasound image, a harmonic mode ultrasound image, an M-mode ultrasound image, and/or other types of ultrasound images.

Fig. 1B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment 150 of an ultrasound system 100 according to embodiments described herein. Environment 150 illustrates the operation of ultrasound system 100 with respect to patient 160. As shown in fig. 1B, the patient 160 may be positioned such that a region of interest of the patient may be scanned. For example, assume that the region of interest corresponds to the patient's bladder 165. To scan the bladder 165, the ultrasound probe 110 may be positioned against a surface portion of the patient 160 proximate to the anatomical portion to be scanned. The user may apply an acoustic gel 170 (or gel pad) onto the skin of the patient 160 over the area of the bladder 165 to provide acoustic impedance matching when the dome 118 is placed against the skin. The user may choose to perform a volumetric scan of the bladder 165 by pressing the trigger 114, pressing a scan button on the display 122, speaking a voice command, and/or using another type of scan initiation technique. In response, the ultrasound probe 110 may transmit an ultrasound signal 180 through the bladder 165 and may receive a reflected ultrasound signal. The reflected ultrasound signals may be processed into an image that is displayed on the display 122.

Although fig. 1A and 1B illustrate exemplary components of the ultrasound system 100, in other embodiments, the ultrasound system 100 may include fewer components, different components, additional components, or differently arranged components than depicted in fig. 1A and 1B. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components of the ultrasound system 100 may perform one or more tasks described as being performed by one or more other components of the ultrasound system 100.

For example, in other embodiments, the ultrasound probe 110 may correspond to a self-contained device that includes a microprocessor housed within the ultrasound probe 110 that is configured to operatively control one or more ultrasound transducers and process the reflected ultrasound energy to generate an ultrasound image. Accordingly, the display on the ultrasound probe 110 may be used to display the generated images and/or view other information associated with the operation of the ultrasound probe 110. In other embodiments, the ultrasound probe 110 may be coupled to a general purpose computer, such as a laptop computer, tablet computer, and/or desktop computer (via a wired or wireless connection), including software that controls, at least in part, the operation of the ultrasound probe 110 and/or including software for processing information received from the ultrasound probe 110 to generate ultrasound images.

Fig. 2A is a diagram of a first exemplary embodiment of an ultrasound probe 110 according to embodiments described herein. As shown in fig. 2A, the ultrasound probe 110 may include a single transducer element coupled to two rotary motors. In this embodiment, the ultrasonic probe 110 may include a base 210 connected to the dome 118, a theta motor 220, a spindle 230, a phi motor 240, and a transducer basket 250 with a transducer 260. the theta motor 220, phi motor 240, and/or transducer 260 may include wired or wireless electrical connections that electrically connect the theta motor 220, phi motor 240, and/or transducer 260 to the base unit 120 via the cable 130 (not shown in FIG. 2A).

The base 210 may house the theta motor 220 and provide structural support to the ultrasonic probe 110. The base 210 may be connected to the dome 118 and may form a seal with the dome 118 to protect the components of the ultrasound probe 110 from the external environment. theta motor 220 may rotate spindle 230 relative to base 210 in a longitudinal direction relative to transducer 260 by rotating about a vertical axis, referred to herein as theta (theta) rotation plane 225. The main shaft 230 may terminate at a shaft 235, and the phi motor 240 may be mounted on the shaft 235. The phi motor 240 may rotate about an axis orthogonal to the theta rotation plane 225, i.e., about a horizontal axis referred to herein as the phi (phi) rotation plane 245. The transducer basket 250 may be mounted to the phi motor 240 and may move with the phi motor 240.

The transducer 260 may be mounted to the transducer bucket 250. The transducer 260 may include a piezoelectric transducer, a capacitive transducer, and/or another type of ultrasonic transducer. Transducer 260 and transceiver circuitry associated with transducer 260 convert the electrical signals to ultrasonic signals at a particular ultrasonic frequency or range of ultrasonic frequencies, receive reflected ultrasonic signals (e.g., echoes, etc.), and convert the received ultrasonic signals to electrical signals. Transducer 260 may transmit and receive ultrasonic signals in a signal direction 265 that is substantially perpendicular to the surface of transducer 260.

The signal direction 265 may be controlled by the movement of the phi motor 240, while the orientation of the phi motor may be controlled by the theta motor 220. For example, phi motor 240 may be rotated back and forth through an angle of less than 180 degrees to generate ultrasound image data for a particular plane, while theta motor 220 may be rotated to a particular position to acquire ultrasound image data for a different plane.

In aim mode, the theta motor 220 may remain stationary while the phi motor 240 rotates back and forth to acquire ultrasound image data for a particular aim plane. In the targeting mode, the theta motor 220 may be moved back and forth between multiple targeting planes and the phi motor 240 may be rotated back and forth to acquire ultrasound image data. As an example, theta motor 220 may be moved between two orthogonal planes when the aiming mode is selected. As another example, theta motor 220 may be sequentially rotated through three planes at 120 degrees from each other during the aiming mode.

In 3D scan mode, the theta motor 220 may cycle through the set of planes one or more times to acquire a complete 3D scan of the region of interest. In each particular plane in the set of planes, the phi motor 240 may be rotated to acquire ultrasound image data for that particular plane. the movement of theta motor 220 and phi motor 240 may be interleaved in the 3D scan mode. For example, movement of phi motor 240 in a first direction may be followed by movement of theta motor 220 from a first plane to a second plane, followed by movement of phi motor 240 in a second direction opposite the first direction, followed by movement of theta motor 220 from the second plane to a third plane, and so on. This staggered movement may enable the ultrasound probe 110 to acquire smooth, continuous volumetric scans and may increase the rate at which scan data is acquired.

The ultrasound planar images comprising the 3D scan may include B-mode ultrasound images, P-mode ultrasound images, doppler mode images (e.g., power doppler, continuous wave doppler, pulsed wave doppler, etc.), harmonic mode ultrasound images, motion mode (M-mode) ultrasound images, and/or other types of ultrasound images.

In some embodiments, the ultrasound probe 110 may be configured to enable continuous movement of the theta motor 220. For example, wiring from the base 210 to the phi motor 240 and/or to the ultrasonic transducer 260 may limit movement of the theta motor 220 in a particular direction. Thus, the theta motor 220 may need to be rotated alternately forward and backward to move the ultrasonic transducer 260 to a particular scan plane to prevent the wire from becoming entangled or broken. In some embodiments, the wiring may be replaced with an electrical connection that does not restrict such movement of the theta motor 220 and enables the theta motor 220 to continue to rotate in one direction.

In some embodiments, the wiring may be replaced with one or more conductive slip rings on the main shaft 230 and/or shaft 235. Conductive slip rings may maintain electrical connection with two conductive surfaces that remain in contact as they rotate around each other. Furthermore, a conductive lubricant may be present between the two conductive surfaces to reduce friction. In other embodiments, one or more wireless connections may be utilized in place of the wiring. For example, the base 210 may include a first wireless transceiver and the transducer bucket 250 may include a second wireless transducer. The two wireless transducers may exchange wireless signals to control the ultrasound transducer 260. The wireless transducers may communicate via short-range wireless communication methods (e.g., a bluetooth connection, a bluetooth low energy connection, an NFC connection, and/or another short-range wireless communication method).

Fig. 2B is a diagram of a second exemplary embodiment of an ultrasound probe 110 according to embodiments described herein. As shown in fig. 2B, the ultrasound probe 110 may include a 1D array of transducer elements coupled to a rotary motor. In this embodiment, the ultrasound probe 110 may include a base 210 connected to the dome 118, a theta motor 220, a spindle 230, and a transducer barrel 270 with a 1D transducer array 275. the theta motor 220 and/or 1D transducer array 275 may include wired or wireless electrical connections that electrically connect the theta motor 220 and/or 1D transducer array 275 to the base unit 120 via the cable 130 (not shown in FIG. 2B).

The base 210 may house the theta motor 220 and provide structural support to the ultrasonic probe 110. The base 210 may be connected to the dome 118 and may form a seal with the dome 118 to protect the components of the ultrasound probe 110 from the external environment. the theta motor 220 may rotate the spindle 230 relative to the base 210 in a longitudinal direction relative to the 1D transducer array 275 by rotating about the theta rotation plane 225. The spindle 230 may terminate in a transducer bucket 270. The 1D transducer array 275 may be mounted to the transducer bucket 270. The 1D transducer array 275 may include a curved or phased 1D array of piezoelectric transducers, capacitive transducers, and/or other types of ultrasound transducers. The 1D transducer array 275 may convert the electrical signals to ultrasonic signals at a particular ultrasonic frequency or range of ultrasonic frequencies, may receive reflected ultrasonic signals (e.g., echoes, etc.), and may convert the received ultrasonic signals to electrical signals. One or more elements of the 1D transducer array 275 may transmit and receive ultrasound signals in a particular direction of the set of directions, as shown by item 276 in fig. 2B. Thus, by electronically controlling the elements in the 1D transducer array 275, the elements in the 1D transducer array 275 together can generate ultrasound image data for a particular plane.

When interlaced using the ultrasound probe 110 of fig. 2B to scan a particular plane, rather than using the phi motor 240, the 1D transducer array 275 can be controlled to electronically tilt the ultrasound beam to a phi direction by: by selectively firing subsets of the transducers in the 1D transducer array 275, or by controlling the firing delays between individual transducer elements, so as to cause the 1D transducer array 275 to electronically sweep the ultrasound beam along an arc in a forward or backward direction. In other embodiments, the transducers in the 1D transducer array 275 may be excited substantially simultaneously to obtain ultrasound image data of the plane in which the 1D transducer array 275 is located.

Thus, in 3D scan mode, the theta motor 220 may cycle through the set of planes one or more times to obtain a complete 3D scan of the region of interest. In each particular plane of the set of planes, the 1D transducer array 275 may acquire ultrasound image data by controlling the transducers of the 1D transducer array 275. the movement of the theta motor 220 and the excitation of the 1D transducer array 275 may be interleaved in the 3D scanning mode. For example, excitation of the 1D transducer array 275 may then be moved from a first plane to a second plane with the theta motor 220, then followed by another excitation of the 1D transducer array 275, then followed by movement of the theta motor 220 from the second plane to a third plane, and so on. Such staggered movement may enable the ultrasound probe 110 to obtain smooth, continuous volume scans and increase the rate at which scan data is obtained.

In some embodiments, the ultrasound probe 110 of FIG. 2B may be configured to enable continuous movement of the theta motor 220. For example, routing from the base 210 to the 1D transducer array 275 may restrict movement of the theta motor 220 in a particular direction. Thus, the theta motor 220 may need to be rotated alternately forward and backward to move the 1D transducer array 275 to a particular scan plane to prevent the wires from becoming entangled or broken. In some embodiments, the wiring may be replaced with an electrical connection that does not restrict such movement of the theta motor 220 and enables the theta motor 220 to continue to rotate in one direction. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the wiring may be replaced with one or more conductive slip rings and/or one or more wireless connections on the main shaft 230 and/or the shaft 235, as explained above with reference to fig. 2A.

Fig. 2C is a diagram of a third exemplary embodiment of an ultrasound probe 110 according to embodiments described herein. As shown in fig. 2C, the ultrasound probe 110 may be configured to have a major axis 230 oriented perpendicular to the axis 235 and the signal direction 265. The arrangement of the ultrasound probe 110 shown in FIG. 2C may be such that the theta motor 220 moves the scan plane scanned by the phi motor 240 about the spindle 230 along the rotation plane 225 as the phi motor 240 rotates about the axis of the shaft 235.

Fig. 2D is a diagram of a fourth exemplary embodiment of an ultrasound probe 110 according to embodiments described herein. As shown in fig. 2D, the ultrasound probe 110 may include a transducer bucket 270 and a 1D transducer array 275, with the main axis 230 positioned perpendicular to the center of the grouping direction 276. The arrangement of ultrasound probe 11 shown in FIG. 2D may be such that theta motor 220 moves the scan plane scanned by 1D transducer array 275 along rotation plane 225 about spindle 230. Thus, while in fig. 2A and 2B, phi motor 240 rotates about a horizontal axis and theta motor 220 rotates about a vertical axis, in fig. 2C and 2D, phi motor 240 rotates about a first horizontal axis and theta motor 220 rotates about a second horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the first horizontal axis.

The configuration of the ultrasound probe 110 shown in fig. 2C and 2D enables sector scanning to be performed by moving the scanning plane scanned by the phi motor 240 along a cylindrically curved surface, as compared to moving the scanning plane within a plane (e.g., a horizontal plane) using the configuration of the ultrasound probe 110 shown in fig. 2A and 2B. Sector scanning may be used when the region of interest of the patient corresponds to a concave surface (e.g., the anterior portion of the neck, the curved surface of the joint, the lower back, etc.) and/or when the target organ is in an elongated shape (e.g., scanning the aorta, large intestine, etc.). The interlacing described herein may also be implemented using the configuration of the ultrasound probe 110 shown in fig. 2C and 2D.

Although fig. 2A and 2B illustrate exemplary components of the ultrasound probe 110, in other embodiments, the ultrasound probe 110 may include fewer components, different components, additional components, or differently arranged components than depicted in fig. 2A and 2B. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components of the ultrasound probe 110 may perform one or more tasks described as being performed by one or more other components of the ultrasound probe 110.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating example components of an apparatus 300 according to embodiments described herein. The ultrasound probe 110 and/or the base unit 120 may each include one or more devices 300. As shown in FIG. 3, device 300 may include a bus 310, a processor 320, a memory 330, an input device 340, an output device 350, and a communication interface 360.

Bus 310 may include a path that permits communication among the components of device 300. Processor 320 may include any type of single-core processor, multi-core processor, microprocessor, latch-based processor, and/or processing logic (or series of processors, microprocessors, and/or processing logic) that interprets and executes instructions. In other embodiments, processor 320 may include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and/or another type of integrated circuit or processing logic.

Memory 330 may include any type of dynamic storage device that may store information and/or instructions for execution by processor 320 and/or any type of non-volatile storage device that may store information for use by processor 320. For example, memory 330 may include Random Access Memory (RAM) or another type of dynamic storage device, Read Only Memory (ROM) or another type of static storage device, Content Addressable Memory (CAM), magnetic and/or optical recording storage devices and their corresponding drives (e.g., hard disk drives, optical disk drives, etc.), and/or removable forms of memory (e.g., flash memory).

Input device 340 may allow an operator to input information into device 300. Input device 340 may include, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a pen, a microphone, a remote control, an audio capture device, an image and/or video capture device, a touch screen display, and/or another type of input device. In some embodiments, the apparatus 300 may be remotely managed and may not include the input apparatus 340. In other words, for example, the apparatus 300 may be "headless" and may not include a keyboard.

Output device 350 may output information to an operator of device 300. Output device 350 may include a display, a printer, a speaker, and/or another type of output device. For example, the apparatus 300 may include a display, which may include a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) for displaying content to a customer. In some embodiments, the apparatus 300 may be remotely managed and may not include the output apparatus 350. In other words, for example, the apparatus 300 may be "headless" and may not include a display.

Communication interface 360 may include a transceiver that enables device 300 to communicate with other devices and/or systems via wireless communication (e.g., radio frequency, infrared, and/or visual optical devices, etc.), wired communication (e.g., conductive wire, twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, transmission line, fiber optic cable, and/or waveguide devices, etc.), or a combination of wireless and wired communication. Communication interface 360 may include a transmitter that converts baseband signals to Radio Frequency (RF) signals and/or a receiver that converts RF signals to baseband signals. Communication interface 360 may be coupled to an antenna for transmitting and receiving RF signals.

Communication interface 360 may include logic components including input and/or output ports, input and/or output systems, and/or other input and output components that facilitate the transfer of data to other devices. For example, the communication interface 360 may include a network interface card (e.g., an ethernet card) for wired communication and/or a wireless network interface (e.g., WiFi) card for wireless communication. Communication interface 360 may also include a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port for communicating over a cable, a bluetooth wireless interface, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) interface, a Near Field Communication (NFC) wireless interface, and/or any other type of interface that converts data from one form to another.

As will be described in detail below, the apparatus 300 may perform certain operations related to performing interlaced scanning. Apparatus 300 may perform these operations in response to processor 320 executing software instructions contained in a computer-readable medium, such as memory 330. A computer-readable medium may be defined as a non-transitory storage device. The storage device may be implemented within a single physical storage device or may be distributed across multiple physical storage devices. The software instructions may be read into memory 330 from another computer-readable medium or from another device. The software instructions contained in memory 330 may cause processor 320 to perform processes described herein. Alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement processes described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

Although fig. 3 shows exemplary components of the apparatus 300, in other embodiments, the apparatus 300 may include fewer components, different components, additional components, or differently arranged components than those depicted in fig. 3. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components of apparatus 300 may perform one or more tasks described as being performed by one or more other components of apparatus 300.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating exemplary functional components of the ultrasound system 100. The functional components of the ultrasound system 100 may be implemented, for example, by the processor 320 executing instructions from the memory 330. Alternatively, some or all of the functional components of the ultrasound system 100 may be implemented by hardwired circuitry. As shown in fig. 4, the ultrasound system 100 may include a user interface (interface) 410, an interlace manager 420, a scan order table Database (DB)425, an image generator 430, and a data collector 450.

User interface 410 may generate a user interface (e.g., a graphical user interface) that displays ultrasound images to a user via display 122 and is configured to receive selections and/or commands from the user via a touch screen associated with display 122, via one or more control keys located on base unit 120 and/or ultrasound probe 110, via a microphone included in base unit 120, and/or via another type of input method. For example, the user may select an aiming mode, a type of ultrasound image, via the user interface 410, may select one or more aiming mode planes, and/or may select to perform a 3D scan once the user is satisfied with the position of the ultrasound probe 110 during the aiming mode.

The interlace manager 420 may generate a 3D scan of a region of interest in the patient's body. For example, in response to a user selecting to perform a 3D scan, the interlace manager 420 may instruct the image generator 430 to generate ultrasound images of a particular plane group in a particular order using the interlaced movement of the theta motor 220 and the phi motor 240 based on information stored in the scan order table DB 425. The scan order table DB425 may store one or more scan order tables. For a particular number of planes and a particular interlace coefficient k, a particular scan order table may include information identifying the scan orders for the groups of planes and the respective directions of movement of theta motor 220 and phi motor 240 for each plane. In some embodiments, a particular scan order list may be selected by a user. In other embodiments, a particular scan order table may be selected based on one or more scan parameters. An exemplary scan order table is described below with reference to fig. 6A, 6B, and 6C.

Further, the interlace manager 420 may be configured to enable a user to select and then perform a particular type of interlace. For example, the interlace manager 420 may select and perform successive bi-plane scans to perform scans where the phi and theta motor movements overlap (e.g., move the theta motor 220 from a first plane to a second plane when the phi motor 240 is in an acceleration or deceleration region of its range of motion), to perform successive theta motor movements in one direction, and/or other types of interlaced scans.

The image generator 430 may generate an ultrasound image in a particular plane. For example, the image generator 430 may instruct the data collector to acquire ultrasound images of a particular type, move to a particular plane (e.g., a particular location of the theta motor 220), and generate ultrasound images of a particular type for a particular plane (e.g., using the phi motor 240 and the transducer 260).

The data collector 450 may be configured to collect ultrasound image data from the ultrasound probe 110. Data collector 450 may include phi motor controller 460, theta motor controller 470, and transducer controller 480. The phi motor controller 460 may control the phi motor 240. theta motor controller 470 may control theta motor 220. The transducer controller 480 may control the transducer 260.

Although fig. 4 shows exemplary components of the ultrasound system 100, in other embodiments, the ultrasound system 100 may include fewer components, different components, additional components, or differently arranged components than those depicted in fig. 4. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components of the ultrasound system 100 may perform one or more tasks described as being performed by one or more other components of the ultrasound system 100.

Fig. 5 is a flow diagram of an interlacing process according to an embodiment described herein. In some embodiments, the process of fig. 5 may be performed by the ultrasound system 100. In other embodiments, some or all of the processes of fig. 5 may be performed by another device or group of devices separate from the ultrasound system 100.

The process of FIG. 5 may include defining a number of planes N, an interlace coefficient k, and a set of transforms { b } as a set of integers {1, …, k }₁,…,b_k} (block 510). The interlace coefficient k may determine the number of groups of scan planes and the set of transforms may define the order in which the groups of scan planes are scanned. Thus, b_iRefer to the ith set of scan planes. For example, if there are 12 planes, everyThe row coefficient k is 4, the numbered planes are divided into 4 groups by sequentially assigning them to 4 groups: group 1 is {1,5,9}, group 2 is {2,6,10}, group 3 is {3,7,11} and group 4 is {4,8,12 }. For example, select { b₁,b₂,b₃,b₄The set of transforms {3,2,4,1} would be such that the scan plane order is (3-)>7->11)->(10->6->2)->(4->8->12)->(9->5->1) Wherein the scanning direction alternates between forward and backward directions between successive groups. As another example, { b } is selected₁,b₂,b₃,b₄The set of transforms {1,2,3,4} would be such that the scan plane order is (1-)>5->9)->(10->6->2)->(3->7->11)->(12->8->4)。

In some embodiments, when interlaced is selected, the user may select the number of planes N, the interlace coefficient k, and the transform set { b } from a list of options displayed on the display 122₁,…,b_k}. In other implementations, the ultrasound system 100 may automatically select a particular number of scan planes, interlacing coefficients, and/or transform sets based on one or more parameters associated with the scan to be performed (e.g., parameters of a region of interest, an image size, a selected ultrasound image type, and/or another type).

Variables may be initialized (block 520). In particular, the current index i may be set to 1, the current theta motor direction d may be set to forward or backward, and if the theta motor direction d is set to "forward," the current scan plane n may be set to b_iAnd if the theta motor direction d is set to "backwards", the current scan plane N may be set to N-k + b_i. In some embodiments, the "forward" direction of theta motor 220 may be defined as moving along a circle in a direction that increases the plane number, while the "backward" direction may be defined as moving along a circle in a direction that decreases the plane number. In other embodiments, the "forward" and "backward" directions of theta motor 220 may be defined differently. For example, "forward" of theta motor 220 may be defined as counterclockwise, while "backward" of theta motor 220 may be defined as"may be defined as clockwise.

Further, in some embodiments, "forward" of the phi motor 240 may be defined as a movement along a plane from a position numbering the plane on a circle, and "backward" of the phi motor 240 may be defined as a movement along a plane toward a position numbering the plane on a circle. In other embodiments, the "forward" and "backward" directions of the phi motor 240 may be defined differently. For example, "forward" of phi motor 240 may be defined as clockwise, and "backward" of theta motor 220 may be defined as counterclockwise.

The nth plane may then be scanned (block 530). The transducer 260 or the 1D transducer array 275 may perform a B-mode ultrasound scan, a P-mode ultrasound scan, a doppler mode ultrasound scan, a harmonic mode ultrasound scan, and/or another type of ultrasound scan of the nth plane. As an example, in an embodiment using the ultrasound probe 110 of fig. 2A, the nth plane may be scanned by moving the phi motor 240 in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the phi motor 240 when scanning the previous plane. Thus, if the phi motor 240 moves in the forward direction with respect to the previous plane, the phi motor 240 may move in the backward direction, and if the phi motor 240 moves in the backward direction with respect to the previous plane, the phi motor 240 may move in the forward direction. While scanning the first plane, the phi motor 240 may move in a default first direction (e.g., forward in some embodiments, backward in other embodiments, etc.).

As another example, in an embodiment using the ultrasound probe 110 of fig. 2B, the nth plane may be scanned by electronically controlling the transducers in the 1D transducer array 275 such that the nth plane is scanned by activating the transducers in a particular order. As yet another example, the transducers in the 1D transducer array 275 may be excited without time delays by exciting the transducers substantially simultaneously or in a random order.

A determination may be made as to whether the current theta direction is set to forward (block 540). If the current theta direction is set to forward (block 540-YES), then n may be set to n+ k (box 550). In other words, the current scan plane may be increased by the interlace coefficient. A determination may be made as to whether N is set to a number greater than N, which corresponds to the total number of scan planes (block 560). If n is>N (block 560-YES), then the current index i may be set to mod (i, k) +1, and N may be set to N-k + b_i(block 570) and the theta motor direction may be set to the backward (block 580). The theta motor 220 may then be moved to the nth scan plane (block 590), and the process may return to block 530 to scan the nth scan plane by moving the phi motor 240 in a direction opposite to the last direction of movement of the phi motor 240 (or by electronically controlling the 1D transducer array 275). Returning to block 560, if N ≦ N (block 560-NO), processing may proceed to block 590 to move the theta motor 220 to the nth scan plane, and processing may return to block 530 to scan the nth scan plane by moving the phi motor 240 in a direction opposite to the last movement of the phi motor 240 (or by electronically controlling the 1D transducer array 275).

Returning to block 540, if the current theta direction is set to backward (block 540 — no), then n may be set to n-k (block 555). In other words, the current scan plane may be reduced by the interlace coefficient. A determination may be made as to whether n is set to less than 1 (block 565). If n is<1 (block 565 — yes), then the current index i may be set to mod (i, k) +1, and n may be set to b_i(block 575), and the theta motor direction may be set to forward (block 585). The theta motor 220 may then be moved to the nth scan plane (block 590), and the process may return to block 530 to scan the nth scan plane by moving the phi motor 240 in a direction opposite to the last direction of movement of the phi motor 240 (or by electronically controlling the 1D transducer array 275). Returning to block 565, if n ≧ 1 (block 565 — NO), processing may proceed to block 590 to move the theta motor 220 to the nth scan plane, and processing may return to block 530 to scan the nth scan plane by moving the phi motor 240 in a direction opposite to the last direction of movement of the phi motor 240 (or by electronically controlling the 1D transducer array 275).

The process of fig. 5 may continue until the user chooses to stop performing volume scans, until a selected number of volume scans have been performed, and/or until different types of trigger conditions are satisfied.

Fig. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D are diagrams of exemplary scan order tables. Fig. 6A shows a scan order table 601 of interlace scanning having 12 planes and an interlace coefficient k of 2. The scan order table 601 may include a scan order row 610, a plane number row 620, a phi motor direction row 630, and a theta motor direction row 640. Scan order row 610 may include information identifying the order in which the planes are scanned. The plane number row 620 may include information identifying a plane number based on sequential numbering of planes around a circle starting from a starting plane (see, e.g., fig. 7A). The phi-motor direction row 630 may include information identifying the direction of movement of the phi-motor 240 for each plane ("FW" corresponds to forward motion associated with the plane number, and "BW" corresponds to backward motion associated with the plane number). theta motor direction row 640 may include information identifying the direction of movement of theta motor 220 for each set of planes.

As shown in fig. 6A, the planar scan order for one volume scan of the interlace with 12 planes, an interlace coefficient of 2, and a transform set of {1,2} is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, followed by 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2. The direction of phi motor 240 changes with each plane, and the direction of theta motor 220 changes with each set of planes. Since the interlace coefficient is 2, the number of sets of planes is 2.

Fig. 6B shows a scan order table 602 for interlaced scanning with 12 planes, an interlace coefficient k of 4, and a transform set of {1,2,3,4 }. As shown in fig. 6B, the planar scan order for one volume scan of the interlace having 12 planes and an interlace coefficient of 4 is 1,5,9, followed by 10, 6, 2, followed by 3,7,11, and followed by 12, 8, 4. The direction of phi motor 240 changes with each plane, and the direction of theta motor 220 changes with each set of planes. Since the interlace coefficient is 4, the number of sets of planes is 4.

Fig. 6C shows another interlace scan order table 603 with 12 planes, an interlace coefficient k of 4, and a transform set of {3,2,4,1 }. As shown in fig. 6C, the scan order of the scan order table 603 for one volume scan is 3,7,11, followed by 10, 6, 2, followed by 4,8,12, followed by 9, 5, 1. Scan order table 603 differs from scan order table 602 in having a different set of transforms.

Fig. 6D shows a scan order table 604 for interlaced scanning with 12 planes, an interlace coefficient k of 2, and a transform set of {2,1 }. As shown in fig. 6D, the scan order of the scan order table 604 is 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1, followed by 2,4, 6, 8, 10, and 12. Scan order table 604 differs from scan order table 601 by having a different set of transitions and showing that theta motor direction row 640 need not start in the "forward" direction.

Fig. 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D are diagrams of exemplary ultrasound transducer trajectories based on a 12-plane volumetric scan. Fig. 7A shows a trajectory 701 of an interlaced ultrasound transducer 260 based on 12 planes and with an interlace coefficient of 1 for a first volumetric scan 710 and a second volumetric scan 712. FIG. 7A identifies phi-motor movement 714 for plane 9 to show phi-motor 240 moving across (along) a particular plane, and identifies theta-motor movement 716 from plane 2 to plane 3 to show theta-motor 220 moving from plane to plane.

Fig. 7B shows a trajectory 702 of the interlaced ultrasound transducer 260 based on 12 planes and with an interlace coefficient of 2 for the first volumetric scan (items 720 and 722) and the second volumetric scan (items 724 and 726). Fig. 7C shows a trajectory 703 of an interlaced ultrasound transducer based on 12 planes and with an interlace coefficient of 3 for a first volume scan (items 730, 731, and 732) and a second volume scan (items 733, 734, and 735). Fig. 7D shows trajectory 704 of an interlaced ultrasound transducer based on 12 planes and having an interlace coefficient of 4 for the first volume scan (items 740, 741, 742, and 743) and the second volume scan (items 744, 745, 746, and 747).

Fig. 8A, 8B, 8C, and 8D are diagrams of exemplary ultrasound transducer trajectories based on 24-plane volumetric scanning. Fig. 8A shows a trajectory 801 of an interlaced ultrasound transducer 260 based on 24 planes and with an interlace coefficient of 1 for a first volumetric scan 810 and a second volumetric scan 812. Fig. 8B shows a trajectory 802 of an interlaced ultrasound transducer 260 based on 24 planes and having an interlace coefficient of 2 for a first volumetric scan (items 820 and 822) and a second volumetric scan (items 824 and 826). Fig. 8C shows trajectory 803 of an interlaced ultrasound transducer based on 24 planes and with an interlace coefficient of 3 for the first volume scan (items 830, 831, and 832) and the second volume scan (items 833, 834, and 835). Fig. 8D shows the trajectory 804 of the interlaced ultrasound transducer based on 24 planes and with an interlace factor of 4 for the first volume scan (

items

840, 841, 842 and 843) and the second volume scan (

items

844, 845, 846 and 847).

Fig. 9A and 9B are diagrams of exemplary ultrasound transducer trajectories based on a volume scan of 4 planes. Fig. 9A shows a trajectory 901 of an interlaced ultrasound transducer 260 based on 4 planes and with an interlace coefficient of 1 for a first volumetric scan 910 and a second volumetric scan 912. Fig. 9B shows a trajectory 902 of an interlaced ultrasound transducer 260 based on 4 planes and with an interlace coefficient of 2 for a first volumetric scan (items 920 and 922) and a second volumetric scan (items 924 and 926).

Fig. 10A and 10B are diagrams of exemplary ultrasound transducer trajectories based on 2-plane volumetric scanning. Fig. 10A shows a trajectory 1001 of an interlaced ultrasound transducer 260 based on 2 planes and with an interlacing coefficient of 1 for a first biplane scan 1010 and a second biplane scan 1012. Fig. 10B shows a trajectory 1002 of the interlaced ultrasound transducer 260 based on 2 planes and with an interlace coefficient of 2 for the first biplane scan (items 1020 and 1022) and the second biplane scan (items 1024 and 1026). The interlace scanning based on 2 planes and having an interlace coefficient of 2 corresponds to the case of the continuous biplane scanning.

Fig. 11 shows a continuous biplane scanning trajectory 1100. In a continuous biplane scan, ultrasound transducer 260 can collect two orthogonal ultrasound images (e.g., B-mode images). If the speeds of the phi and

theta motors

240, 220 are fast enough, continuous biplane scanning may be used for real-time or near real-time biplane ultrasound imaging. Continuous biplane scanning, for example, can be used to acquire real-time lateral and longitudinal views of a region of interest in a patient.

FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, FIG. 7C and FIG. 7D; fig. 8A, 8B, 8C and 8D; fig. 9A and 9B; fig. 10A and 10B; and FIG. 11 shows an ultrasound transducer trajectory for a volumetric scan using the ultrasound probe 110 of FIG. 2A, including the movement of theta motor 220 and phi motor 240. However, if the phi motor movement 714 is replaced with an electronically controlled scan using the 1D transducer array 275 (which does not include any physical motor movement, but still presents a particular plane being scanned), then the illustrated ultrasound transducer trajectory may also be applied to a volumetric scan using the ultrasound probe 110 of FIG. 2B with the theta motor 220 and 1D transducer array 275. Thus, in such embodiments, the arrow representing the phi-motor movement direction 714 in each plane may be omitted.

Fig. 12 is a graph 1200 of the range of motion of the phi motor 240. As shown in fig. 12, the range of motion 1210 of the phi motor 240 may include a sector of a circle. For example, in some embodiments, the range of motion 1210 may have a span of less than 180 °, such as about 150 °. The range of motion 1210 may include two acceleration/deceleration regions 1220 and a constant velocity region 1230. For example, in some embodiments, the constant velocity region 1230 may span approximately 120 °. As the phi motor 240 scans the plane, the phi motor 240 may accelerate from a zero rotational speed to a scan motor speed, and may reach the scan motor speed when the phi motor 240 reaches the beginning of the constant speed region 1230. The ultrasound transducer 260 may then begin scanning the plane and may continue scanning the plane as the phi motor 240 moves across the constant velocity region 1230. The ultrasound transducer 260 may stop scanning at the end of the constant velocity region 1230 and the phi motor 240 may begin decelerating to reach a stationary position at the end of the acceleration/deceleration region 1220, which also corresponds to the end of the range of motion 1210. Thus, the phi motor 240 can scan a sector corresponding to the constant velocity region 1230 and produce an ultrasound image having a view angle corresponding to the angle (e.g., 120 °) of the constant velocity region 1230.

As explained above with respect to fig. 12, no scanning occurs in the acceleration/deceleration region 1220. Accordingly, the volumetric scanning speed may be increased by moving the theta motor 220 from the previous plane of the interlaced scan (during acceleration) or moving the theta motor 220 to the next plane of the interlaced scan (during deceleration) using the time the phi motor 240 is moving in one of the acceleration/deceleration zones 1220. Thus, the movement of theta motor 220 and phi motor 240 may overlap.

Fig. 13A is a diagram 1301 showing the motion trajectory and position of a two-plane volume scanned motor without and with overlap. As shown in fig. 13A, a motion trajectory 1310 without overlap produces a motion curve 1315 without overlap, which motion curve 1315 is shown for five consecutive volume scans in fig. 13A. Also shown in fig. 13A is a motion trajectory 1320 with overlap, which results in a motion curve 1325 with overlap, the motion curve 1325 also being shown for five consecutive volume scans. With overlap, the theta motor 220 begins to move to the next plane as the phi motor 240 decelerates, and the phi motor 240 begins to accelerate for scanning the next plane while the theta motor 220 is still moving and before the theta motor 220 fully moves to the next plane. The motion curve 1325 with overlap shows that in this exemplary interlaced scan, the overlap yields a time savings of, for example, more than 0.2 seconds for five volume scans, resulting in faster and more real-time volume scans and reduced motion blur.

Fig. 13B is a diagram showing the motion trajectory and position of a motor for a 12-plane volumetric scan without and with overlap. As shown in fig. 13B, a motion trajectory 1350 without overlap produces a motion curve 1355 without overlap, which motion curve 1355 is shown for one volume scan in fig. 13B. Also shown in fig. 13B is a motion trace 1360 with an overlap, which produces a motion curve 1365 with an overlap, the motion curve 1365 also being shown for one volume scan. The motion curve with overlap 1365 shows that in this exemplary interlaced scan with 12 scan planes, the overlap yields a time savings of, for example, greater than 0.2 seconds for a single volume scan.

As explained above with reference to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the ultrasonic probe 110 may be configured to enable continuous motion of the theta motor 220 in one direction. For example, the theta motor 220 may be enabled for continuous motion by utilizing a conductive slip ring and/or a wireless connection in place of wiring to the ultrasonic transducer 260. FIGS. 14A and 14B are diagrams of exemplary scan order tables with continuous theta motor movement. In embodiments where the theta motor 220 is continuously moving, the rules for interlacing may be changed to the following rules: during the volume scan, the direction of phi motor 240 changes with each plane, while the direction of theta motor 220 does not change.

Fig. 14A shows a scan order table 1401 for interlace scanning having 12 planes, an interlace coefficient k of 2, and a theta motor 220 continuously moving. As shown in FIG. 14A, the direction of phi motor 240 changes with each plane, while the direction of theta motor 220 does not change. Fig. 14B shows a scan order table 1402 for interlaced scanning with 12 planes, an interlace coefficient k of 4, and continuous motion of the theta motor 220. As shown in FIG. 14B, the direction of phi motor 240 changes with each plane, while the direction of theta motor 220 does not change.

Fig. 15A, 15B, and 15C are diagrams of exemplary ultrasound transducer trajectories for a volume scan based on 12 planes and continuous theta motor movement. Fig. 15A shows a trajectory 1501 of an interlaced ultrasound transducer 260 based on 12 planes and having an interlace coefficient of 2 for a first volumetric scan (items 1510 and 1512) and a second volumetric scan (items 1514 and 1516). Fig. 15B shows a trajectory 1502 of an ultrasound transducer for an interlaced scan based on 2 planes and with an interlace coefficient of 2 (i.e., a biplane scan) for a first volumetric scan (items 1520 and 1521), a second volumetric scan (items 1522 and 1523), and a third volumetric scan (items 1524 and 1525). FIG. 15C shows a plot 1503 comparing the trajectory of the ultrasonic transducer 260 for a continuous biplane scan with no overlap 1530 and with overlap 1535 where the theta motor is continuously moving.

In the foregoing specification, various preferred embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

For example, while series of blocks have been described with respect to fig. 5, the order of the blocks may be modified in other implementations. Further, the non-dependent blocks may be performed in parallel.

Although the above examples refer to scanning the bladder, in other embodiments, other organs, joints, blood vessels, and/or body regions (e.g., aorta, prostate, kidney, uterus, ovary, aorta, heart, etc.) may be scanned and/or imaged. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the selection of the number of planes and/or the interlacing coefficients may be performed automatically based on the size of the image, the region of interest, and/or another parameter.

It will be apparent that systems and/or methods as described above may be implemented in many different forms of software, firmware, and hardware in the implementations illustrated in the figures. The actual software code or specialized control hardware used to implement the systems and methods is not limiting of these embodiments. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and methods were described without reference to the specific software code-it being understood that software and control hardware could be designed to implement the systems and methods based on the description herein.

Further, some portions described above may be implemented as components that perform one or more functions. As used herein, a component may include hardware, such as a processor, ASIC, or FPGA, or a combination of hardware and software (e.g., a processor executing software).

It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

The term "logic" as used herein may refer to a combination of one or more processors configured to execute instructions stored in one or more memory devices, may refer to hardwired circuitry, and/or may refer to a combination thereof. Further, the logic may be contained in a single device or may be distributed across multiple and possibly remote devices.

For the purposes of describing and defining the present invention it is also noted that the term "substantially" is utilized herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation. The term "substantially" is also utilized herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter at issue.

No element, act, or instruction used in the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the embodiments unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article "a" is intended to include one or more items. Further, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based, at least in part, on" unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Claims

1. A method performed by an apparatus, the method comprising:

the apparatus selects a plurality of scan planes for interleaving in order to scan a volume of a region of interest within a patient using an ultrasound transducer;

the apparatus selects interlace coefficients for the interlace scanning;

the apparatus divides the scan planes into scan plane groups based on the interlace coefficients; and

the apparatus performs the interlaced scanning by controlling a first motor configured to rotate the ultrasound transducer about a horizontal axis to scan a plane and a second motor configured to rotate the ultrasound transducer about a vertical axis to move it to a different plane, and wherein the first motor moves in a first direction for at least some scan planes and in a second direction opposite the first direction for other scan planes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second motor moves in a third direction for at least some of the scan plane groups and in a fourth direction opposite the third direction for other scan plane groups.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first motor changes direction with each plane, and wherein the second motor changes direction with each group but does not change direction within a group.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the scan planes are separated by an angle corresponding to one hundred and eighty degrees divided by the number of scan planes.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein dividing the scan planes into scan plane groups based on the interlace coefficients comprises:

sequentially numbering the scanning planes;

dividing the scan planes into a plurality of scan plane groups corresponding to the interlace coefficients; and

the numbered scan planes are sequentially assigned to the scan plane groups.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the interlaced scanning comprises:

scanning a specific plane by moving the first motor in a direction opposite to a moving direction of the first motor when scanning a previous plane;

moving to a next plane by moving the second motor by a plurality of planes corresponding to the interlace coefficients, wherein if the next plane is in a different scan plane group from the previous plane, the direction of the second motor is changed.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of scan planes corresponds to two, wherein the interlace coefficient corresponds to two, and wherein performing the interlace scanning comprises:

a continuous biplane scan is performed.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the range of motion of the first motor includes an acceleration or deceleration region and a constant speed region, and wherein performing the interlaced scan comprises:

controlling the second motor to rotate when the first motor is in the acceleration or deceleration region in the range of motion.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second motor moves the ultrasonic transducer from a first plane to a second plane when the first motor is in the acceleration or deceleration region of the range of motion.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the second motor moves in the same direction for all scan plane groups.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the interlaced scanning comprises:

performing a first volume scan with the second motor starting from a first plane; and

performing a second volumetric scan with the second motor starting from a second plane, wherein the second plane is different from the first plane.

12. A system, comprising:

an ultrasound probe, the ultrasound probe comprising:

an ultrasonic transducer;

a first motor configured to rotate the ultrasound transducer about a horizontal axis to scan a plane; and

a second motor configured to rotate the ultrasonic transducer about a vertical axis or about another horizontal axis perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the first motor to move it to a different plane; and

a controller unit configured to:

selecting a plurality of scan planes for interleaving to scan a volume of a region of interest in a patient using the ultrasound probe;

selecting an interlace coefficient for the interlace scanning;

dividing the scan planes into scan plane groups based on the interlace coefficients; and is

The interlacing is performed by controlling the first and second motors, and wherein the first motor moves in a first direction for at least some scan planes and in a second direction opposite the first direction for other scan planes.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the second motor moves in a third direction for at least some of the scan plane groups and in a fourth direction opposite the third direction for other scan plane groups.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the first motor changes direction with each plane, and wherein the second motor changes direction with each group but does not change direction within a group.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein when performing the interlacing, the controller unit is further configured to:

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the number of scan planes corresponds to two, wherein the interlace coefficient corresponds to two, and wherein, when performing the interlace, the controller unit is further configured to:

a continuous biplane scan is performed.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the range of motion of the first motor includes an acceleration or deceleration region and a constant speed region, and wherein, when performing the interlaced scan, the controller unit is further configured to:

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the controller unit is further configured to:

controlling the second motor to move from a first plane to a second plane when the first motor is in the acceleration or deceleration region in the range of motion.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the controller unit is further configured to:

controlling the second motor to move in the same direction for all scan plane groups.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein the second motor is configured to rotate the ultrasound transducer about a vertical axis.

21. The system of claim 12, wherein the second motor is configured to rotate the ultrasound transducer about another horizontal axis perpendicular to a horizontal axis of the first motor.

22. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory storing instructions; and

a processor configured to execute the instructions to:

selecting a plurality of scan planes for interleaving to scan a volume of a region of interest within a patient using an ultrasound transducer array;

selecting an interlace coefficient for the interlace scanning;

The interlacing is performed by controlling the ultrasound transducer array to scan planes and controlling a motor configured to rotate the ultrasound transducer array about a vertical axis to move it to a different plane, and wherein the motor changes direction for each group of scan planes but does not change direction within the group of scan planes.